Climbing or moving suspended from the ground with gradual continued process is usually one of the first primitive movement patterns that we start to lose. This movement is generally seen in play as we are young. We would think nothing of climbing up a tree, or on a jungle gym set as we were kids. But as we got older we did less and less of this type of play. We traded out climbing up and down objects for playing sports (of which climbing would never be a part of) or becoming sedentary (definitely not a part of this). In fact, unless someone took up rock climbing or mountain climbing as a recreational sport the only time we climb in our adult lives is going up a ladder. Even in the gym we lose out on our climbing capability choosing exercises that do not emphasize the muscles or patterns designed for climbing, or loads not enough to stimulate the strength for climbing.

Climbing requires a great bit of grip strength, upper back strength, core strength and coordination (I would also be remised if I didn’t mention body weight matters greatly in this movement pattern and may be a barrier to certain types of climbing). Once it is lost we must work to gain it back. Have you ever gone to the playground and try to do the monkey bars lately. It feels like you are going to rip your arms out of your sockets. It is very difficult to bare all of your body weight suspended off the ground. Then to add movement to it drastically increases the intensity. The body needs to be prepared for this. As with all of these movements, there are many ways to climb. For the sake of this blog I will go over the progressions of a lateral bar climb.

Static hang– Just grab onto a pull-up bar and hang there. This will help strengthen grip and get the upper body used to supporting the entire body weight. If this is too intense start with one foot on a box to take away some of the bodyweight.

Static Hand with contraction– In the hanging position, pull your shoulders down, contracting you lats. You can hold in this position or do reps (mini pull-ups if you will)

Eccentric Pull up– Jump up to the fully flexed bent arm hang and lower yourself as slow as possible to the ground.

Assisted Pull up– Do a pull-up by using a band, a partner, an assist pull up machine or you can even self-assist by putting one foot on a box.

Non Assisted Pull up– Do a regular pull up.

Assisted Y Pull-up– Do an assisted pull-up by pulling your chin to one hand and lowering back to the middle, then pull your chin to the other had and lower yourself back to the middle

Y pull-up– Do a pull-up by pulling your chin to one hand and lowering back to the middle, then pull your chin to the other had and lower yourself back to the middle.

Bar lateral climb– Start at one end of a pull-up bar. In a 90 degree flexed arm hang position, walk your hands from one end of the bar to the other and then return back. Start with large “steps” with your hands. As this gets easier, decrease the distance that your hands move as you travel across the bar.

To jump, or to spring into the air and then absorb impact as the body is brought back to the surface, is a very ballistic and advanced human movement. To explosively leave the ground at a high rate of speed and then to absorb the impact of landing is quite difficult, particularly to those who have not done this activity in a while. Jumping is seen in youth play, sports and some fitness routines. Maximal jumping (jumping as high/far as you can as fast as you can) is really only seen in play and sports. Most fitness routines use jumping as a conditioning modality. So, those that don’t jump must learn how to properly take off and, more importantly, how to land properly (since a majority of non-contact injuries are seen when the body absorbs forces). Those who do jump, must learn how to maximally jump, once again with focus on takeoff and landing. Just like all of human movement, there are many ways to jump. You can jump in any direction imaginable, taking off from varying bases of support and landing on various bases of support. Here is a simple progression of a squat jump.

Box Jumps-

Jumping up on a box is a great way to start the jumping progressions. Jumping up on to something lessens the forces of gravity by landing at your peak, where regular jumps have you jumping to your peak and then falling back to earth. Always choose a box size where you are able to jump and land with solid form. Using a box will put emphasis on a proper take off…drive your hips down and back as you swing your arms back, and quickly explode upward (and forward to land on the box) while swinging the arms upward/forward. Try to get full extension of the lower limbs (triple extension). Always land lightly on top of the box (land like a ninja!). This will help teach your body to absorb impact.

Box Jump Down-

Jumping from the top of the box to the ground would be the second step in the progression. This eliminates the takeoff/force production portion of the jump and emphasizes the force absorption of the land. As mentioned earlier, teaching the body how to land is more important than teaching it how to jump. Someone who can land properly can avoid injury and react better. When jumping down from the box you are basically just stepping off the box. When you land you want to do so as soft as possible (back to being a ninja….no one should hear you land). To do this you should “sink” into the landing and end up in the Crouching/Athletic position.

Squat Jump-

Putting it all together. Jumping from the floor and landing on the floor means applying and absorbing forces. Emphasis is on both the take off and the landing (see above). These should be done as sets of one to emphasize starting from a standing position, driving the hips down/back and then exploding upwards as high as possible, then landing as quietly as possible. Do repetitive squat jumps can cause room for error in all aspects of the jump. As we progress repetitive squat jumps will be more appropriate but in the initial progression phases we want to be strict on form.

Another step in the progressions is to vary the base of support in which one takes off and lands. Here are some progressions:

Double leg take off, double leg land

Single leg take off, double leg land

Double leg take off, single leg land

Single leg take off, Single leg land

Jumping can be a daunting task for many. The farther removed someone has been from jumping the more daunting it becomes. However, with proper progressions of jumping this task will become more manageable.

Crouching, or to lower the body stance by bending at the knee and hip, is a movement not often seen in the regular population. We generally are either sitting, standing or walking. However, this movement is quite popular in the sports arena as seen in the athletic or defensive position. Being able to get into, hold and move out of this position is crucial for athletes. A crouched stance lowers the center of gravity (generally the hips in most people) to the base of support (the feet). This lowered position creates increased stability and balance, and put the athlete in an advantageous position to absorb and apply force. The more efficient a person is at crouching the more effective they are in their movements.

But as I mentioned crouching is not seen regularly in the regular population……..Or is it? (I know, I am contradicting myself, but bear with me here). What happens when we hear a loud noise? We duck, or quickly lower our body stance. What happens when something or someone comes at you? We lower our stance to either take on the forces or run away? In the general population the crouching movement is more seen as a fight or flight mechanism. We innately will lower our stances without thinking about it. However, after all of the adrenaline wears off, there is potential for soreness or injury to remain because we are not used to getting into this position. If we are, we will react better ad perform tasks more efficiently without the residual pain.

Crouching is also seen in the squatting motion and the lunging motion. These are temporary “crouches”, where the body stance is lowered by bending the knee and hips, but the body quickly returns to a stand position. These are valuable in their own right, but to stay in the crouched position is an entirely different animal. Here are the progressions to build up to moving efficiently and effectively in a crouched position. Keep in mind, for the scope of this blog, I will only cover a lateral crouching movement progression. We can move in any direction with a crouch (all of which should be progressed).

Static:

Wall sit- Bracing your back against a wall, sit so that your legs are at 90 degrees. This is good to develop some base strength before progressing to a non-supported stance.

Crouching Position hold- In a standing positon with your feet wider than shoulder width apart, lower your hips by bending your knees and pushing your hips back. Keep your knees over your shoes and back straight. Lower your hips to tolerance, but do not drop the hips below the knees. Hold this for a predetermined amount of time.

Crouching Position- Kick Stand- In crouching position, narrow your stance so that your feet are close together. Extend your left leg out straight to the left. The left leg will act as a “kick stand” for the right leg as the right leg will bare most of the weight. Hold this for a predetermined amount of time on one side and then switch.

Crouching Position- Tap out- In crouching position, narrow your stance so that your feet are close together. Extend your left leg out straight to the left, tap it down to the ground and then bring it back underneath the body. Do not drag the left foot on the ground. Do a predetermined amount of reps and then switch sides.

Crouching Position- Single Leg- Stand on one leg. Lower your hips by bending your knees and pushing your hips backwards. Lower your hips to tolerance, but do not go below the knee. Hold this position for a predetermined amount of time and then repeat with the other leg.

Dynamic:

Shuffle- In a crouching position (see crouching position hold) move in a predetermined direction (can be lateral, forward, backwards, angled, or rotational). Keep the stance wide and feet straight, try not to recover the feet together. Keep the hips at the same level the entire time. Do this for a predetermined distance. Start slowly and then increase the speed as proficiency increases.

Squat Push- In a narrow stance crouching position, forcefully extend your right leg applying force to the right so that your body goes to the left (think speed skater motion). Do not step out with your left leg, but rather lift it up keep it bent underneath the body only for it to land on the ground again. Recover the right leg back to the narrow stance position. Repeat for a predetermined distance and then return.

Squat Step- In a narrow stance crouching position extend your left leg out to the left (same movement as the couching tap out). Once the left foot is on the ground and the left leg is completely straight, move your hips from the right leg to the left, without raising them. Once you’re over your left leg and your right leg is straight, recover your right leg back underneath your hips into the narrow stance crouching position. Continue this for a predetermined amount of distance and then return.

After we learn to crawl and before we learn to walk, we must learn to get-up off of the ground. This may seem simple to some, but for others this becomes very difficult without the aid of holding onto something. And to certain populations, falling to the ground is quite scary because they are just not strong or mobile enough to get up on their own (queue the cliché “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get-up” commercial). This is a real fear, something that may be inevitable, but can certainly be delayed through training. As always, progressions of getting up off the floor is crucial. There are several ways to “bring the body up off of the ground from a laying position to an upright position”. I will go through the progressions of one of the more common ways of doing this: the Turkish get-up.

Reach Crunch– Lay face up. Feet will be on the ground, knees in the air. Take your right arm and reach it straight to the ceiling. Keep your low back on the ground but lift the right shoulder off of the ground.

Reach and Roll– Lay face up. Keep your left leg straight on the floor and left elbow out on the floor perpendicular to the body. Keep your right foot on the ground with you right knee in the air. With your right arm reach it straight to the ceiling, lifting your entire torso up off the ground by rolling to your left elbow.

Reach and Roll w/Bridge– Do the reach and roll. At the end of the reach and roll, press into the ground with your right foot to lift your hips in the air, while rolling to your left hand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Half Turkish Get-up– Do the reach and roll w/bridge. Pull your left leg underneath your body so that your left knee ends up directly underneath your hips. End in a kneeling lunge stance. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Split Squats– In a standing position, place your right foot in front of your hips and you left foot behind your hips. Lower your hips so that your left knee is about an inch away from the ground. Make sure that both knees come to 90 degree angles and you torso remains perpendicular to the ground.

Lunge Kneel to Stand– Kneel on the ground with your right foot in front and your left knee down underneath your hips. Stand up from this position and bring your feet together.

Full Turkish Get-up– Do the half Turkish get-up and then the lunge kneel to stand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Keep in mind that all of these progressions are done unloaded. The most important thing is the form and the ability to get up off the floor. Loading will come later, and would have more steps to add in the progression so that the participant will be able to do this safely and effectively. Check out the video on our Facebook page to see the progressions.

Before we walk we must crawl. Before we crawl we must make sure our body is prepared. Crawling is an activity that many of us haven’t done since we were children. Once we learned to walk as our primary mean of manual transport we only revisited crawling during time of play. As we grew up our forms of play changed and rarely was crawling apart of this play. Even though we were once able to crawl with very little issue, we need to progress back to this primitive movement pattern.

Crawling requires strength, stability and mobility in the hands, wrists, shoulders and core. If someone has an issue within these areas, that issue must be addressed first before the actual progression begins. In the beginning of the progression the crawl will not quite look like a crawl, but rather derivatives of the crawl that match this definition: “To advance in a prone or supine position where hands and feet are in contact with the ground.”

The progression of the crawl depends on which variation of a crawl you would like to do. The amount of progression and how long you stay in each progression will depend on the clients starting point and ability level. Since there are so many variations of crawl I will start pretty basic to stay within the scope of a blog format. I will use the lateral bear crawl as an example.

Here are some pictures with a brief description of each progression.

Quadruped Position– on your hands and knees with hands under shoulders and knees as wide as hands.

Straight Arm Plank Position– at the top of a push-up position. Hands should be under shoulders and body line should be straight.

Quadruped Single Arm/Leg Reach– In quadruped position. Lift arm of ground and support body weight with three points of contact. Then go to the other arm, then the right leg and finish with the left leg.

Quadruped Bird Dog– Lift opposite arm and leg at the same time and support body weight with two points of contact.

Straight Arm Plank Single Arm/Leg Reach– in a straight arm plank position (yes, I realize this image is a regular plank position but I couldn’t find an image for a straight arm position) lift one leg off the ground to support yourself with three points of contact. Lift the other leg, then the right arm and finish with the left.

Straight Arm Bird Dog– In a straight arm plank position lift opposite arm and opposite leg to support yourself with two points of contact.

Knee Push-ups– Support yourself with your hands and knees and do a push up. Maintain a straight body line from shoulder to knees.

Straight Leg Push-ups – support yourself with your hands and knees and do a push up. Maintain a straight body line from shoulder to ankles.

Lateral Knee Push-ups– (Sorry, couldn’t find a picture for this one, but look below at the lateral straight leg push-up.) In a knee push-up position, step you right hand and knee to the right and do a push-up. Recover your left hand and knee to your right hand and knee and do a push-up. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the starting point.

Lateral Straight Leg Push-ups– In a straight arm push-up position, step you right hand and foot to the right and do a push-up. Recover your left hand and foot to your right hand and foot and do a push-up. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the starting point.

Lateral Bear Crawl– Get into a bear crawl position (hands under shoulder, knees tucked under hips with feet in contact to the ground). Step your right hand and right foot to the right side and then recover your left hand and foot to the right. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the start. (The picture that best represents this is the bottom guy)

For a video of the progressions check out the Pursuit Institute facebook page.